The Red Zone

Move from NSC will keep top talent at BSM

Matt Muenzberg — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 05:29:46 +0000

The italicized portion is from an article on bsmknighterrant.org

After outscoring their opponents 96-6 in conference play this season, BSM will be leaving the North Suburban Conference for boys’ hockey and will play an independent schedule instead, according to an article from the website Minnesota Hockey Hub.

According to Minnesota Hockey Hub’s article, a proposal by the NSC members was approved by coaches Sunday, Feb. 19. BSM athletic director Jerry Pettinger called going independent a “one-year experiment” in the article.

According to Mr. Pettinger, competitive balance was the main reason for the move. The Red Knight’s non-conference schedule included powerhouses Hill-Murray, Maple Grove, and Minnetonka. The move will free up BSM’s schedule for more marquee games.

Stay tuned to bsmknighterrant.org and follow @MuenzKESports on twitter for further details.

Moving out of the North Suburban Conference is the second best thing to happen in Red Knight hockey history.

While not as big as moving from A to AA, the departure from the NSC keeps BSM a big time program for the time being, helping them keep big time talent.

The MSHSL only allows 25 varsity games per year. When 10 of those games are blowouts played at half-speed, the best players only play 15 (theoretically) intense games each regular season.

The USHL plays around 60 games a year. Shattuck-St. Mary’s plays around 75. So if you’re a college coach, wouldn’t you try to convince your recruit to leave school and play a rigorous schedule at SSM or in the USHL?

But with the new schedule, the Red Knights can play against D-1 talent almost every game. Games against teams like Edina, Eden Prairie, Duluth East, Eagan, and St. Thomas are all real possibilities now.

So now if you’re Wisconsin head coach Mike Eaves, you would be fine with Grant Besse staying at BSM for his senior season knowing that he will be playing against top talent in four out of five nights.

Who makes it out of 6AA?

Matt Muenzberg — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 04:27:09 +0000

The week that was (2/6-2/11)

Matt Muenzberg — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 03:06:27 +0000

Boys’ Basketball
BSM snuck out a one point win on the Island, but they had an easier time against their crosstown rivals.Tuesday W BSM 60 DeLaSalle 59
Thursday W BSM 75 St. Louis Park 48

Girls’ Basketball
The girls gave up 70 in their first loss since 2011, but almost doubled up SLP Friday night.

Tuesday L BSM 54 DeLaSalle 70
Friday W BSM 69 St. Louis Park 35

Boys’ Hockey
A huge win vs Wayzata sets them up well for sections. A loss to Shattuck was expected, but Besse’s two goals show just how on fire he is right now.

Monday W BSM 4 Wayzata 3
Wednesday L SSM 5 BSM 2
Saturday W BSM 6 TG 0

Girls’ Hockey
BSM outshoots North Metro by 60.

Saturday W BSM 11 North Metro 0

Sanjay Lumpkin Dunk

Matt Muenzberg — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 06:43:03 +0000

Sanjay Lumpkin throws down a dunk in the first half against Spring Lake Park. The #1 Red Knights defeated the #2 Panthers 67-65.

This Week (1/29-2/4)

Matt Muenzberg — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 18:52:56 +0000

Boys’ Basketball
Full story here

Friday W BSM 67 Spring Lake Park 65

Girls’ Basketball
Girls’ basketball disposed of Southwest, then hosts Spring Lake Park on Friday.

Tuesday- W BSM 70 Southwest 38
W BSM 57 Spring Lake Park 39

Boys’ Hockey
The Red Knight’s destroyed a struggling Jefferson team, highlighted by Grant Besse’s five goals, putting him at 92, a Red Knight record.

Tuesday- W BSM 7 Jefferson 1
Saturday- 7:30 @ Spring Lake Park

Girls’ Hockey
BSM closes out the regular season with two NSC road games.

Thursday- W BSM 6 Spring Lake Park 1
Saturday- 7:30 @ Totino-Grace

The Week That Was (1/24-1/28)

Matt Muenzberg — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 23:05:01 +0000

Boys’ Basketball
BSM rolled through three easy conference games this week, including a 61 point win over North Branch

Tuesday- W BSM: 84 Fridley: 70
Thursday- W BSM 78 Chisago Lakes 46
Saturday- W BSM 82 North Branch 21

Girls’ Basketball
Girls’ basketball took care of business with three double digit NSC wins this week.

Tuesday- W BSM 71 Fridley 44
Thursday- W BSM 58 Chisago Lakes 45
Saturday- W BSM 66 North Branch 40

Boys’ Hockey
The Red Knight’s were extremely undisciplined against the Spuds, drawing over 20 minutes in penalties. There is no way they can get out of 6AA taking this many penalties.

Thursday- W BSM 6 Irondale 1
Friday- L Moorhead 6 BSM 2

Girls’ Hockey
A huge win at Irondale puts them in the driver’s seat in the NSC, but a tough loss to #2 Hill-Murray will likely drop them to out of the top spot in the state rankings.

Tuesday- W BSM 2 Irondale 1
Friday- W BSM 10 St. Francis/North Branch 0
Saturday- L Hill-Murray 3 BSM 1

At the mid-way point

Matt Muenzberg — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 15:49:29 +0000

Well we’re half-way through the winter sports season, and as usual all four of the major winter teams are doing quite well. Who has the best chance at winning State this spring?

Moore’s two goals not enough against Skippers

Matt Muenzberg — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 22:41:59 +0000

Although it was in a losing effort, the boys’ hockey team proved that they could play with the state’s best teams when they lost 5-3 to Minnetonka on Thursday, Jan. 12, in a hostile environment at the Pagel Activity Center. BSM junior forward Tj Moore and Minnetonka senior forward Erik Baskin both lit up the scoreboard, scoring two goals a piece, but it was junior forward Tommy Vannelli who had the game winning goal for the Skippers less than a minute after the Red Knights tied it up. Streaking down the right wing half-way through the final frame, Vannelli fired a blast from the top of the circle, sneaking it past junior goalie Justin Quale’s left pad. Quale had 32 saves on the night. The loss nearly guarantees that the Red Knights will not get the top seed in next month’s section tournament, but a win against Wayzata on Monday, Feb. 6, would likely give them the second or third seed.

Boys’ Hockey at Tonka Preview

Matt Muenzberg — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 17:04:36 +0000

Note: Sorry it’s been a while. Between break and Jack Jablonski stuff, I’ve gotten side tracked. Here’s a quick preview of the game vs. Tonka

Top Lines:

Tonka: Coatta-Ramsey-Lettieri

BSM: Labosky-Moore-Besse

Both have young top lines, with three out of the six already committed to WCHA schools (Besse to Wisconsin, Labosky to CC, Lettieri to Minnesota). I’d say they’re about even.

Defensive Top Pairs:

Tonka: Joe and Jimmy Schuldt

BSM: Jake Horton and Jonah Johnson

The top pairing is also pretty even, but with Jack Glover playing for team USA, Tonka has more depth at the blue line.

Goaltending:

Tonka: Behounek or Ciacco

BSM: Jecha or Quale

Ciacco appears to have solidified his position as Tonka’s top tender, but it isn’t clear who will start. Jecha and Quale are about even, but Jecha may get the nod after beating the Skippers last season.

Prediction:

Tonka 6

BSM 4

Tonka is 47-2-3 at Pagel since 2007, but one of those losses is to the Red Knights. This is going to be a high-scoring affair, but I think without Glover, the Skippers will pull through and lock up the 1 seed in the 6AA tournament.

Schwan Cup Preview

Matt Muenzberg — Sun, 25 Dec 2011 19:19:56 +0000

Merry Christmas, here’s a preview for the Schwan Cup

1st Round

STA vs. AHA (12/26 12:00 Ridder Arena) Prediction: STA. Why: Although Holy Angels should probably be a 1A team, they still can’t beat St. Thomas. I’ve got STA by at least 5.

Duluth East vs. Burnsville (12/26 2:30 Ridder Arena) Prediction: East. Why: The best game of the day in my opinion, this should be East’s first real challenge. They should still win, my guess is by 2.

Tonka vs. Hill-Murray (12/26 5:30 Ridder Arena) Prediction: Tonka. Why: Tonka is right up there with East, but also hasn’t really been challenged yet. That won’t happen here with Hill in a down year. Tonka by 4.

Blaine vs. Edina (12/26 8:00 Ridder Arena) Prediction: Edina. Why: I haven’t seen Blaine in a few years, but I heard MG disposed of them. Edina also lost to MG, but that was over a month ago. Edina looked good against EP too. Edina by 2.

2nd Round

STA vs. Duluth East: Prediction: East. Why: A match up between last year’s state champions. Also the top team in 1A against the top team in 2A. There’s a reason why Duluth East is in 2A. East by 2.

Tonka vs. Edina: Prediction: Tonka. Why: Tonka is the better team on paper, but I cant shake the feeling that Edina will pull off the upset. This will either be a Tonka blowout or a close Edina win.

Championship

Tonka vs. Duluth East: Prediction: Tonka. Why: East plays a tough schedule, but two nights in a hotel and 3 games in 3 days is rough against a team in the comfort of their own homes. Tonka by 1.